Meet the metalwork master who crafted for the rich and famous and built his own dream home

The intention was to convert it into a home for his family, including wife, Kate, and their two sons, Wilf, now 16, and Toby, 14.

However, the project threw up challenges from the start. "We bought a funny-shaped barn to convert and it became apparent, after we got permission to do it, that it was unconvertible,” says James.

"We had to change the permission so we could knock it down but because it’s in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, we had to rebuild it on the same footprint and out of the existing sandstone.”

James’s tight budget didn’t stretch to employing a builder so he and one of his employees spent a year carefully dismantling the barn, consisting of 33,000 stones, during evenings and weekends and another 18 months rebuilding it, employing professionals for plumbing and electrical work.

"I’ve always wanted to build my own house but it was a very expensive and stressful process,” he says.

"I didn’t foresee the stonework being a problem but we had to take it down, stone by stone, knock the gear off it and put it in a box.

"By the end, we had about 80 massive potato boxes filled with stone. When we started building again, I thought I’d sorted it all really carefully within half an inch but it needed to be much more accurate than that. It took forever.”

The whole project, which took over five years to complete and cost £250,000 to complete after purchasing the building, is a testament to James’s extraordinary talent and dedication to his craft.

Every inch of the 3,444 sq ft property, from the magnificent stonework to the beautiful door handles, bears the mark of his meticulous attention to detail.

“From the start, everything had to be in the right place and absolutely perfect – even when we didn’t have doors and windows,” he says.

"We knew we were building the layers of a house. I installed 20 of the windows myself and built most of the furniture, including the dining table, the island, the sliding screen. Everywhere you look, within touching distance, there is something that I felt I had to make.”

During the build, James was also working with interior designers on high-end metalwork projects in London, which provided lots of inspiration for his own home.

As the project evolved, he sought out the advice of interiors expert Jonathan Reed, a trusted adviser and long term collaborator.

"The initial plans for the house were put together very quickly so I asked Jonathan to come and have a look because I wasn’t happy with them,” says James.

"He just threw everything up in the air. He redesigned the layout and the flow and I think it’s just genius. "It’s built for how we live as a family. People would say to us you need to do this or that but the way it is works for our family and that’s the only thing that matters.

"The look is industrial but refined.There’s a lot of steel and everything is almost indestructible."

The finished home showcases James’s ability to blend traditional craftsmanship with modern design.

His vision for the space incorporates an open-plan layout, natural materials, and custom-designed features that are both artistic and functional.

Initially, there was no rush to complete the work. The family was renting a house in the village and James was enjoying the build process even though he says it took up ‘every single minute’ of his spare time.

However, in August 2022, the family were given two months' notice to leave their rented property. “We didn’t have windows, we didn’t have running water,” says James.

“What was a relaxed and enjoyable process turned into an amazing amount of pressure to get it ready to move in.”

Now, two years later, the only thing left to finish is the stair balustrade.

"Every time I drive up to the house, my whole life of what was involved in building the house flashes in front of me and I can’t believe it’s mine and I’ve done it,” he says.

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What makes the home even more special is that James says his children will be the seventh generation of his family to live within 200 yards of its location.

"It’s weird thinking of all the family members who would have walked past the entrance to our house and we’ve ended up living here,” he says. “The barn we bought was really meant to be.”

However, now that his dream home is complete, James has his eye on another renovation project. He has bought a smaller property about a mile away and is in the process of converting that into a smaller home. It also has a separate barn, which he says, could become a new base for his business in the future.

"If everything went to plan, in five years we could sell the house we’ve finished, move into the little one and maybe get a tiny little place in France and chill out,” he says.